Method and apparatus for using hearing assistance device as voice controller

ABSTRACT

A system for communication between one or more remotely controllable devices and a hearing assistance device includes a gateway device. The hearing assistance device detects voice commands issued by its wearer. The gateway device wirelessly communicates with the hearing assistance device, produces one or more control signals based on the voice commands, and routes the one or more control signals to one or more devices selected from the one or more remotely controllable devices according to the voice command.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/934,248, filed Mar. 23, 2018, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 10,453,458,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/864,820,filed Sep. 24, 2015, now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 9,940,928, each ofwhich are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

The present application is related to U.S. application Ser. No.14/450,041, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONVEYING INFORMATIONFROM HOME APPLIANCES TO A HEARING ASSISTANCE DEVICE”, filed Aug. 1,2014, which is a Continuation-in-Part (CIP) of and claims the benefit ofpriority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to U.S. application Ser. No. 13/601,602,entitled “GATEWAY FOR A WIRELESS HEARING ASSISTANCE DEVICE”, filed Aug.31, 2012, which are incorporated by reference herein in theirentireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present subject matter relates generally to hearing assistancedevices, and more particularly to a system including a gateway thatallows one or more devices to be voice-controlled using a wirelesshearing assistance device.

BACKGROUND

Modern hearing assistance devices, such as hearing aids, typicallyinclude digital electronics to enhance the wearer's listeningexperience. Hearing aids are electronic instruments worn in or aroundthe ear to compensate for hearing losses by specially amplifying sound.Hearing aids use transducer and electro-mechanical components which areconnected via wires to the hearing aid circuitry.

Modern hearing assistance devices may include wireless communicationcapabilities for receiving signals from and/or transmitting signals tovarious devices, such as telephones and entertainment devices equippedwith audio transmitter or streamer. Automation systems have beenintroduced, for example into homes to allow remote control of varioushome electrical and electronic devices which may include the devicescommunicating with a hearing assistance devices. Thus, the hearingassistance device may increasingly become part of a system or network ofvarious types of devices.

SUMMARY

A system for communication between one or more remotely controllabledevices and a hearing assistance device includes a gateway device. Thehearing assistance device detects voice commands issued by its wearer.The gateway device wirelessly communicates with the hearing assistancedevice, produces one or more control signals based on the voicecommands, and routes the one or more control signals to one or moredevices selected from the one or more remotely controllable devicesaccording to the voice command.

In one embodiment, the system includes the gateway device and one ormore automation controllers. The gateway device includes a communicationcircuit and a control signal generator. The communication circuitreceives a command signal from the hearing assistance device via awireless communication link. The command signal is representative of avoice command detected by the hearing assistance device. The controlsignal generator generates the one or more control signals based on thevoice command. The one or more automation controllers arecommunicatively coupled to the gateway device and communicativelycoupled to the one or more remotely controllable devices, and receivethe one or more control signals and control the one or more remotelycontrollable devices using the one or more control signals.

In one embodiment, a method for controlling one or more remotelycontrollable devices using a hearing assistance device is provided. Acommand signal is received using a gateway device. The command signal iswirelessly transmitted from the hearing assistance device andrepresentative of a voice command. One or more control signals aregenerated based on the voice command. The one or more remotelycontrollable devices are controlled using the one or more controlsignals.

This Summary is an overview of some of the teachings of the presentapplication and not intended to be an exclusive or exhaustive treatmentof the present subject matter. Further details about the present subjectmatter are found in the detailed description and appended claims. Thescope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims andtheir legal equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system for wirelesslycommunicating with a hearing assistance device, according to oneembodiment of the present subject matter.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for wirelesslycommunicating with a hearing assistance device, according to oneembodiment of the present subject matter.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system providing for wirelesscommunication from one or more home appliances to a hearing assistancedevice, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for wireless communicationfrom one or more home appliances to a hearing assistance device,according to one embodiment of the present subject matter.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a system providing for wirelesscommunication between one or more remotely controllable devices and ahearing assistance device, according to one embodiment of the presentsubject matter.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method for wireless communicationbetween one or more remotely controllable devices and a hearingassistance device, according to one embodiment of the present subjectmatter.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a system including a hearingassistance device and one or more automation systems controllable usingthe hearing assistance device, according to one embodiment of thepresent subject matter.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a hearing assistance device,according to one embodiment of the present subject matter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of the present subject matter refersto subject matter in the accompanying drawings which show, by way ofillustration, specific aspects and embodiments in which the presentsubject matter may be practiced. These embodiments are described insufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice thepresent subject matter. References to “an”, “one”, or “various”embodiments in this disclosure are not necessarily to the sameembodiment, and such references contemplate more than one embodiment.The following detailed description is demonstrative and not to be takenin a limiting sense. The scope of the present subject matter is definedby the appended claims, along with the full scope of legal equivalentsto which such claims are entitled.

The present subject matter relates generally to hearing assistancedevices, and more particularly to a gateway for a wireless hearingassistance device. The hearing assistance devices referred to hereininclude, but are not limited to hearing aids. One aspect of the presentsubject matter relates to an apparatus for wireless communication with ahearing assistance device. The apparatus includes one or more inputsconfigured to receive messages and alerts directed to a wearer of ahearing assistance device. A processor is configured to process themessages and alerts to obtain an output adapted to be played via audioto a wearer of the hearing assistance device, and to interrupt a currentaudio stream being played to the wearer. A wireless transmitter isconfigured to transmit the output to the hearing assistance device, invarious embodiments. In still another embodiment the processor withinthe hearing assistance device itself is programmed to detect and processaudio alarms and other audio alerts and under those circumstances canattenuate the wireless audio stream or other acoustic audio input andalert the wearer of an alarm or alert either by amplifying the alert orby playing an audio alert equivalent to the alarm or alert beingacoustically played.

A hearing assistance device with wireless communication capability (orwireless hearing assistance device) allows for new services to beoffered to the wireless hearing assistance device user, or wearer. Thepresent subject matter provides for alarms, doorbells, audio messagesand text messages to be sent to the hearing assistance device user. Toenable these services, an entry to the wireless hearing assistancedevice is required. Currently a TV streamer offers a level of accessinto the hearing aid for remote control message forwarding. This subjectmatter allows for other messages, alarms and alerts to be forwarded tothe hearing assistance device user. The messages and alerts arecollected by a gateway device, in one embodiment. The gateway device isenabled with a wireless link to the hearing assistance device user, invarious embodiments. The hearing assistance device user would receivethe messages, alerts and alarms over the wireless link. The hearingassistance device would play the audible message, alert or alarm to thehearing assistance device user. In various embodiments, the gatewaydevice has multiple inputs (wired and/or wireless) for alarms, audioinput, doorbells, etc. In one embodiment, messages are sent directly tothe hearing assistance device from the gateway device. Alternatively,messages can be sent from a gateway device to an accessory device whichforwards the message to the hearing assistance device. In an embodiment,messages are sent from a gateway device to a TV streamer device, wherethey are mixed with the audio stream by a processor (such as a digitalsignal processor). Messages are sent via CVSD (continuously variableslope delta modulation), G.722, G.726, AAC or other appropriate audioencoding format that can be decoded by the hearing assistance device, invarious embodiments.

In various embodiments, accessories such as TV streamers, wireless audiostreaming devices, cell phone interfaces, remote controls, gateways andthe like can incorporate a microphone input for the purpose of“listening” for alarms. Alarms such as fire, burglar, CO, etc. andalerts such as a doorbell, weather alert, etc. can be activated when ahearing aid wearer is in the process of listening to digital audioinputs from accessory devices which will further impair the user fromhearing these household alarms or alerts. In addition, a user would beless likely to hear an incoming telephone call or doorbell when steamingaudio via an accessory device. The wireless accessories or dedicatedaccessory or audio gateway type devices can be equipped with amicrophone, in an embodiment. The microphone is used as an input tomonitor the ambient acoustic environment to determine if an alarm issounding. The unit can be put in a training mode before being deployedfor use to “learn” the alarm sounds so that each can be distinguishedand then unique alerts can be sent to the hearing aid wearer for eachalarm, or a generic alert can be sent just to alert the wearer that analarm is sounding or a phone is ringing. In various embodiments,acoustic inputs being wirelessly forwarded to hearing instruments fromaccessory devices. Accessory devices may include cell phones or smartphones having wireless communication capability such as 802.11 (WIFI),Bluetooth or other means of wireless communication with a hearinginstrument.

It would also be possible to add this feature to hearing aids as welland bypass the accessories. While streaming, the microphone input canstill be monitored for critical alarms going off in the acousticenvironment, the microphone input can go active and the wireless inputcan be muted to help aid the patient in hearing the alarm or be alertedto the alarm. Acoustic alarms can also be translated into voice alertsfor the hearing instrument wearer, in an embodiment.

A hearing impaired user of a hearing assistance device can becomeinvolved with watching TV or other content on a streamer device, and themicrophone audio would be attenuated. Both of these factors make it suchthat the hearing assistance device user might not notice a doorbell, afire alarm or other serious alert that the hearing assistance deviceuser should be made aware of. Additionally, a spouse, family member orfriend might want to talk to the hearing assistance device user whilethey are watching the movie or otherwise not readily paying attention.The present subject matter would also allow for a method to enable aconversation with the hearing assistance device user while the person isin a stream.

The subject matter is intended to be able to get an audible message tothe hearing assistance device user. The message is sent to the hearingassistance device user via the wireless link such that the signal isamplified and made audible for the hearing assistance device wearer, invarious embodiments. Alternatively, the message can be relayed through adevice like a streamer or other accessory, where the message can bemixed with the audio stream.

In various embodiments, a hearing impaired user might have the volumereduced on their assisted listening device, or the assisted listeningdevice might be in a program to attenuate the hearing assistance device.When the alert comes in, the gateway can pass a data message to increasethe volume of the assisted listening device to a normal level, thusoverriding attenuated volume settings.

Previously, lights have been used to alert hearing impaired users toalarms or alerts. Otherwise loud volume is required to capture the audiolink and to get to the hearing assistance device wearer. The previoussolutions do not allow for a multitude of alerts/message sources to befunneled to the hearing assistance device user. The present subjectmatter allows for multiple inputs from the appropriate sources to all becollected, mixed/processed and sent to the hearing assistance deviceuser through wireless transmission. The messages are then played viaaudio to the user. Using a streamer presents a new scenario where thehearing impaired might not pay attention to his or her surroundings asthey might have previously. This subject matter gets the information tothe hearing impaired user, promoting safety in the case of alarms orconveying information to the hearing impaired individual so that theyget the message.

One embodiment of the present subject matter includes a gateway as astandalone device to receive the inputs and transmit them wirelessly tothe hearing assistance device. Alternatively a computer or smart phonecan be configured to accept inputs from various sources, and software onthe computer can route the message to a wireless dongle or built inwireless device. The signal can then be sent to the hearing assistancedevice user directly or via a cellular phone/entertainment device(CPED), TV streamer or other device in wireless communication with thehearing assistance device. A CPED is used to send audio streaming orcell phone audio to the hearing assistance device user. The cell phonecan also receive messages via SMS services or via Bluetooth® or otherwireless interface. When a CPED is used as a gateway, the cell phone cansend the message via Bluetooth® to the CPED, where it can be mixed withother audio signals and sent to the hearing assistance device. When asmart phone or cell phone is used as the gateway device, the signals canbe sent directly to the hearing instrument via wireless communicationsuch as 802.11, Bluetooth, Bluetooth low energy or other wireless means.

In various embodiments, the present subject matter provides for trainingthe gateway device by placing the device into a learning mode for eachaudible alarm within the user's home. For example, the gateway devicecan be placed in “learn fire alarm” mode and then a fire alarm is setoff using the test button on the fire alarm device. This alarm isrecorded and statistics of the sound would be analyzed by the gatewaydevice so if it heard the alarm again while in normal operation it canforward a voice command to the hearing assistance device, or it can senda fire alarm message to the hearing assistance device where a locallygenerated alert can be synthesized on the hearing assistance deviceitself. The learning mode can be used for all other household alarms oftelephone rings, burglar alarms, carbon monoxide (CO) alarms, smokedetectors, weather alerts, etc. Various embodiments provide forautomatic detection of fire alarm sounds (using an ANSI standard, forexample). In another embodiment the hearing device itself can be trainedto analyze such alerts and understand when to mute the stream and playthe alarm or alert or an alarm or alert equivalent notification. Invarious embodiments, the present subject matter is used in a publicmulti-cast system. As a wearer of a hearing assistance device comes inthe vicinity of a public broadcast service, the streaming audio from thebroadcast service can be transmitted via wireless link for reception, invarious embodiments.

Another aspect of the present subject matter relates to communicationbetween one or more home appliances and a hearing assistance devicethrough the gateway device. A hearing aid user can run into issues withdevices that produce audio signals to indicate their states. Forexample, a microwave oven may beep upon completion of a cooking task,but the beep can be difficulty to hear by a hearing aid user,particularly when the hearing aid user is listening to audio streamed tothe hearing aid. One approach to addressing this difficulty is to haveeach of the home appliance devices communicate directly to the hearingaid. However, this requires every device to include an additionalfeature to make it hearing aid compatible. Lacking of coordinationbetween the devices may lead to unreliability within a system withmultiple devices independently communicating with a hearing aidregarding their operational states. The present subject matter providesa system that uses a hub device for the devices communicating with thehearing aid, such as a home automation hub that is configured tocommunicate with one or more home appliances.

In various embodiments, the hub device collects information from one ormore home appliances and relays the information to the gateway device,which processes the information and transmits the processed informationto a hearing assistance device such as a hearing aid. In variousembodiments, open systems, such as the Internet and a home automationhub, are utilized to interface with the gateway device installed withproprietary software, such as an application running on an Android oriOS smartphone, which in turn connects with the hearing assistancedevice to update the user about the state of each appliance in his/herhome. In various embodiments, an open communication protocol may also beutilized to allow the gateway device to connect to multiple smart homesystems.

By allowing all communications from appliances to go through a singlehub, the present subject matter eliminates the need for each individualappliance to have the capability of communicating with the hearingassistance device directly. This also provides the hearing assistancedevice with better and much wider access to the state of multipleappliances in a house.

Still another aspect of the present subject matter relates to a systemthat allows for voice control of remotely controllable devices using ahearing assistance device through the gateway device. In variousembodiments, the gateway device provides an interface between the userof the hearing assistance device, such as a hearing aid wearer, and theremotely controllable devices to allow the user to control operation ofeach of the devices using voice and/or receive audible notifications ofstatus of operation of each of the devices.

Many devices or systems remotely controlled by electrical, electronic,optical, or radio/wireless links require a user interface. Some userinterfaces may allow a user to use hands, for example to flip a switch,adjust a control, push a button, or touch a touchpad or touchscreen.Some user interfaces may allow the user to use voice commands in placeof the hands. The present subject matter provides a user, such as ahearing aid wearer, with a hands-free solution for remotely controllingdevices and/or systems that would free-up not only the hands, but alsothe eyes of the user. In various embodiments, the present subject matterallows the hearing aid wearer to control the devices and/or systems byusing a hearing aid verbal command/uplink gateway. The gateway maycommunicate to the hearing aid via a wireless communication link thatallows for multi-tasking without requiring the hearing aid wearer towear or stay close to an additional device, so that the hearing aid usermay be unencumbered in using the present system. In various embodiments,the gateway may allow for controlling one or more devices directlyand/or serve as a nexus or hub for controlling many devices to achievevarious types of automation such as home automation, vehicularautomation, office automation, factory automation, or personal areanetwork automation/control.

In various embodiments, the present system can be implemented in anaudio system such as an assisted listening device (ALD) system andprovides closed-loop control of various devices, including collectinginformation from the devices to provide the user with state of operationof each of the devices, such as in the forms of alert, notification,and/or feedback, and allowing the user to control the operation of eachof the devices using voice commands. For example, the user may issue avoice command to adjust a particular function of a device, and receive asignal confirming the adjustment of that particular function. The usermay also receive from the device a signal indicating a state ofoperation of that device and prompting the user to issue a voice commandto change that state of operation.

In various embodiments, the hearing aid may interpret verbal commandsreceived from the hearing aid wearer or may relay the received verbalcommands to another device to interpret. Biometrics and/or unique voicemetrics may be used to identify the hearing aid wearer for security.Sub-vocalization and/or bone conduction from the hearing aid wearer maybe detected to receive the verbal command for privacy. In variousembodiments, the present system may be trained for accepting customcommands and/or recognition of voice of the hearing aid wearer. Invarious embodiments, such voice recognition prevents background noise(including speech of people other than the hearing aid wearer) frombeing recognized as valid verbal commands, and prevents the presentsystem from being operated by an unauthorized person.

In various embodiments, the hearing aid once authenticating the wearervia voice recognition, finger-print readers built into the shell of thehearing aid, and/or other biometrics, can then serve as a securitydevice that allows the wearer streamlined access to homes,home-automation controls, automobiles, cellphones, computer, or anyother electronically interfaced device requiring security. This willsignificantly reduce time and hassle for providing physical keys and/orpasswords to various electronically controlled systems with securityprovisions.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system for wirelesslycommunicating with a hearing assistance device, according to oneembodiment of the present subject matter. The system 100 includes anapparatus 102, such as a gateway, for wireless communication with ahearing assistance device (HAD) 110. The apparatus 102 includes one ormore inputs/outputs 104 configured to receive messages and alertsdirected to a wearer of a hearing assistance device. A processor 108 isconfigured to process the messages and alerts to obtain an output 109adapted to be played via audio to a wearer of the hearing assistancedevice, and to interrupt a current audio stream being played to thewearer. A wireless transmitter 106 is configured to transmit the outputto the HAD 110, in various embodiments.

In various embodiments, apparatus 102 includes one or more of theinterface embodiments demonstrated in U.S. Pat. No. 8,169,938,“COMMUNICATION SYSTEM FOR WIRELESS AUDIO DEVICES”, assigned to StarkeyLaboratories, Inc., which is incorporated by reference herein in itsentirety.

FIG. 2 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 200 for wirelesslycommunicating with a hearing assistance device, according to oneembodiment of the present subject matter. At 202, one or more messageand alert inputs are received and the message and alert inputs areprocessed to obtain an output, at 204. At 206, the output is wirelesslytransmitted to a hearing assistance device, and the output is configuredto be played via audio to a wearer of the hearing assistance device andto interrupt a current audio stream being played to the wearer, invarious embodiments.

In various embodiments, a method of using a hearing assistance device isprovided. The hearing assistance device includes a microphone and aprocessor and is adapted to be worn by a wearer, in an embodiment. Themethod includes analyzing an acoustic input to the microphone using theprocessor to determine whether the acoustic input includes an alarmindication or other alert, and attenuating a wired or wireless audiostream input to the hearing assistance device to alert the wearer aboutthe alarm indication or other alert, in various embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a system 330 providing forwireless communication from one or more home appliances to a hearingassistance device, according to one embodiment of the present subjectmatter. System 330 includes a hub device 312 providing for an interfacebetween one or more home appliances 314 and system 100, thus allowingfor communication from one or more home appliances 314 to a wearer ofHAD 110. While a plurality of home appliances 314-1 to 314-N is shown inFIG. 3 for illustrative purposes, one or more home appliances 314 mayinclude any number of home appliances (i.e., N≥1). Examples of one ormore home appliances 314 include, but are not limited to, range, oven,microwave oven, refrigerator, toaster, coffee maker, dishwasher, laundrywasher, and laundry dryer.

In various embodiments, one or more home appliances 314 are eachconfigured to transmit status information via one of one or morecommunication links 315. Appliance 314-1 is communicatively coupled tohub device 312 via communication link 315-1, appliance 314-2 iscommunicatively coupled to hub device 312 via communication link 315-2 .. . , and appliance 314-N is communicatively coupled to hub device 312via communication link 315-N. In one embodiment, one or more homeappliances 314 are each configured to transmit status informationwirelessly using an open communication protocol. Examples of the opencommunication protocol include Zigbee, Z-wave, Bluetooth, Bluetooth LowEnergy (BLE), Bluetooth Basic Rate (BR), WiFi, any other Internet ofThings (IOT) protocols, protocols from the IEEE 802.11 and IEEE 802.15family of standards, and proprietary protocols . . . . The statusinformation is indicative of a status of the each home appliance.Examples of such status information include, but are not limited to,completion of a heating task of a microwave oven, door of a refrigeratorremaining open for prolonged time, and a set temperature of an oven hasbeen reached.

Hub device 312 is configured to receive the status information from oneor more home appliance 314 via communication links 315, produce a statussignal representative of the status information, and transmit the statussignal to apparatus 102, such as the gateway device, via communicationlink 313. The status signal represents the status information. In oneembodiment, hub device 312 is a home automation hub. Hub device 312 is acenter into which all of one or more home appliance 314 are tied, andprovides an interface between the one or more home appliance andapparatus 102.

In various embodiments, apparatus 102 includes a wireless gatewaydevice. In various embodiments, the wireless gateway device isimplemented in a cellular phone including a smartphone, a computer, acell phone/entertainment device (CPED), or any gateway device discussedin this document. In one embodiment, hub device 312 is physicallyintegrated into apparatus 102. In other embodiments, hub device 312 andapparatus 102, such as the wireless gateway device, are physicallyseparate devices.

In one embodiment, apparatus 102 includes one or more inputs/outputs 104configured to receive the status signal from hub device 312, such as viaa wired link or a wireless link. Processor 108 is configured to processthe status signal to produce output 109. Output 109 is adapted to beplayed via audio to the wearer of HAD 110. In one embodiment, output 109is further adapted to interrupt a current audio stream being played tothe wearer of HAD 110. In one embodiment, processor 108 is configured tomake intelligent decisions when processing the status signal, such asselectively providing status information to the wearer usingpredetermined or user-selected criteria. This allows the wearer todecide, for example, which appliance(s) to monitor and/or which state(s)to be informed.

In an example of application of system 330, smart microwave ovenconnects to a home automation hub (e.g., the SmartThings Hub bySmartThings, Washington, D.C.) to transmit its state. When the microwaveoven completes a cooking task, it sends an alert signal to the hub,which relays the alert signal to the wireless gateway device. Thegateway device in turn informs the wearer through a hearing aid. Thisallows a hearing aid wearer to be confident in knowing when the cookingis done.

In one embodiment, system 330 can be combined with a geo-location systemto warn the wearer of the hearing assistance device when the wearerleaves home with certain appliances, such as range or oven, on. Whilethe wearer can be alerted to this on a smartphone itself, consideringthe fact that the broad demographic of the wearers are part of the oldergeneration, they will likely pay more attention to something theirhearing aids are telling them.

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 400 for wirelesscommunication between one or more home appliances and a hearingassistance device, according to one embodiment of the present subjectmatter. In one embodiment, system 330 is configured to perform method400.

At 402, status information from the one or more home appliances isreceived using a hub device. The status information is indicative of astatus of each home appliance of the one or more home appliances. In oneembodiment, the status information is wirelessly transmitted from theone or more home appliances using an open communication protocol.Examples of the open communication protocol include Zigbee, Z-wave,Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Bluetooth Basic Rate (BR), WiFi,any other Internet of Things (IOT) protocols, protocols from the IEEE802.11 and IEEE 802.15 family of standards, and proprietary protocols.

At 404, the status information is transmitted from the hub device to agateway device. In one embodiment, the status information is transmittedfrom the hub device to a gateway device via a wired link. In anotherembodiment, the status information is transmitted from the hub device toa gateway device via a wireless link. Examples of the gateway deviceinclude, but are not limited to, cellular phone, smartphone, andcomputer with application software providing for interface with thehearing assistance device.

At 406, the status information is processed to produce an output usingthe gateway device. The output is adapted to be played via audio by thehearing assistance device to the wearer. In one embodiment, the outputis further adapted to interrupt a current audio stream being played bythe hearing assistance device to the wearer. In one embodiment, thestatus information is processed to produce an output selectivelyrelaying the status information to the wearer of the hearing assistancedevice.

At 408, the output is wirelessly transmitted from the gateway device tothe hearing assistance device. The output is played via audio by thehearing assistance device to its wearer.

While home appliances are discussed with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 as aspecific example, the present subject matter can be applied to any otherdevices communicatively coupled to a hearing assistance device andhaving status information that the wearer of the hearing assistancedevice may want to receive.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a system 540 providing forwireless communication between one or more remotely controllable devicesand a hearing assistance device, according to one embodiment of thepresent subject matter. System 540 includes one or more automationcontrollers 512 providing for an interface between one or more remotelycontrollable devices 514 and system 100, thus allowing for communicationfrom a wearer of HAD 110 to one or more remotely controllable devices514. While a plurality of remotely controllable devices 514-1 to 514-Nis shown in FIG. 5 for illustrative purposes, one or more remotelycontrollable devices 514 may include any number of remotely controllabledevices (i.e., N≥1). In one embodiment, one or more remotelycontrollable devices 514 include one or more home appliances 314, andone or more automation controllers 512 include the functions of hubdevice 312.

In various embodiments, one or more remotely controllable devices 514are each configured to receive one or more control signals from one ormore automation controllers 512 via one of one or more communicationlinks 515. Device 514-1 is communicatively coupled to one of automationcontroller(s) 512 via communication link 515-1, device 514-2 iscommunicatively coupled to one of automation controller(s) 512 viacommunication link 515-2 . . . , and device 514-N is communicativelycoupled to one of the controller(s) 512 via communication link 515-N. Inone embodiment, one or more remotely controllable devices 514 are eachconfigured to receive one or more control signals wirelessly using anopen communication protocol. The one or more control signals arerepresentative of one or more voice commands given by the wearer forcontrolling the operation of each of the one or more remotelycontrollable devices 514.

One or more automation controllers 512 are configured to receive the oneor more control signals from apparatus 102 via a communication link 513,and route the one or more control signals to one or more remotelycontrollable devices 514 via one or more communication links 515. One ormore automation controllers 512 function as a center into which all ofone or more remotely controllable devices 514 are tied, and provide aninterface between the one or more remotely controllable devices andapparatus 102. In one embodiment, any or all of one or more automationcontrollers 512 may be physically integrated into apparatus 102. Inother embodiments, one or more automation controllers 512 and apparatus102, such as the wireless gateway device, are physically separatedevices.

In one embodiment, apparatus 102 includes one or more inputs/outputs 104configured to transmit the one or more control signals to one or moreautomation controllers 512, such as via a wired link or a wireless link513. Processor 108 is configured to process a command signal receivedfrom HAD 110 and produce the one or more control signal based on thecommand signal. HAD 110 receives a voice command from the wearer,produces the one or more control signals based on the voice command, andtransmits the one or more control signals to apparatus 102.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 600 for wirelesscommunication between one or more remotely controllable devices and ahearing assistance device, according to one embodiment of the presentsubject matter. In one embodiment, system 540 is configured to performmethod 600. In another embodiment, system 540 is configured to performboth methods 400 and 600.

At 602, s voice command is detected by the hearing assistance device.The hearing assistance device produces a command signal representativeof the detected voice command. In various embodiments, the voice of thewearer is detected and recognized by the hearing assistance device, andthe voice command is detected from the voice recognized to be the voiceof the wearer. In various embodiments, the voice command includes one ormore predetermined words or other sounds, and the hearing assistancedevice is trainable for recognizing such one or more one or morepredetermined words or other sounds for being detected as the voicecommand.

At 604, the command signal is received using a gateway device. Thecommand signal is wirelessly transmitted from the hearing assistancedevice.

At 606, the voice command is authenticated. In one embodiment, theauthentication is performed by the hearing assistance device (so step606 is performed before step 604). In another embodiment, theauthentication is performed by the gateway device. In still otherembodiments, the authentication is performed by one or more of thehearing assistance device, the gateway device, and other devices in asystem such as system 540. In various embodiments the authentication ofthe voice command can be performed by using biometrics and/or uniquevoice metrics of the wearer or other authorized user to verify that thevoice command is from the wearer or other authorized user. Theauthentication of the voice command may serve as a safety and/orsecurity feature preventing unauthorized persons from controlling theone or more remotely controllable devices using voice commands.

At 608, one or more control signals are generated by the gateway devicebased on the voice command. In various embodiments, one or more controlsignals are routed by the gateway device to one or more devices of theone or more remotely controllable devices selected according to thevoice command. For example, if the voice command is for operating aparticular microwave oven, the one or more control signals are routed tothat microwave oven.

At 610, the one or more remotely controllable devices are controlledusing the one or more control signals. In various embodiments, the oneor more remotely controllable devices are controlled using the one ormore control signals by at least one automation controllercommunicatively coupled to the gateway device. In one embodiment, theone or more control signals are wirelessly transmitted from theautomation controller to the one or more remotely controllable devicesusing an open communication protocol.

Examples communication protocols for various wireless communicationsperformed in method 600 include Zigbee, Z-wave, Bluetooth, Bluetooth LowEnergy (BLE), Bluetooth Basic Rate (BR), WiFi, any other Internet ofThings (IOT) protocols, and protocols from the IEEE 802.11 and IEEE802.15 family of standards. Proprietary communication protocols may alsobe used for the various wireless communications performed in method 600.

An example of the automation controller includes a home automationcontroller (or home automation hub such as the SmartThings Hub) of ahome automation system that includes at least one remote controllabledevice of the one or more remotely controllable devices. Method 600 maybe applied to control, for example, one or more lights, one or moreheating, ventilation, or air-conditioning devices, and one or more homeappliances. Another example of the automation controller includes anautomotive automation controller of an automotive automation system thatincludes at least one remote controllable device of the one or moreremotely controllable devices. Method 600 may be applied to control, forexample, doors, windows, wipes, lights, a global positioning system(GPS) navigator, an audio system, and/or a climate controller of anautomobile.

In various embodiments, method 600 can be performed in combination witha method for wirelessly transmitting status information from the one ormore remotely controllable devices to the hearing assistance device,such as method 400 (but not limited to one or more home appliances). Invarious embodiments, the present subject matter provides for two-waycommunication between the one or more remotely controllable devices andthe hearing assistance device via the gateway device. This allows, forexample, the wearer to issue a voice command for operating a remotelycontrollable device using the hearing assistance device and monitors theresponse of the remotely controllable device to that voice command usingthe hearing assistance device.

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of a system 740 including a hearingassistance device and one or more automation systems controllable usingthe hearing assistance device, according to one embodiment of thepresent subject matter. System 740 represents an embodiment of system540 and includes HAD 110, a gateway device 702 configured to becommunicatively coupled to HAD 110 via a wireless communication link717, one or more automation systems 742 configured to be communicativelycoupled to gateway device 702 via one or more wireless and/or wiredcommunication links 713.

Gateway device 702 represents an embodiment of apparatus 102 andincludes a communication circuit 706 and a gateway processor 708.Communication circuit 706 allows gateway device 702 to communicate withHAD 110 via wireless communication link 717 and communicate with one ormore automation systems 742 via one or more wireless and/or wiredcommunication links 713. Communication circuit 706 receives the commandsignal from HAD 110. Gateway processor 708 includes a control signalgenerator 744 that receives the command signal from communicationcircuit 706 and generates the one or more control signals based on thevoice command. Communication circuit 706 receives the one or morecontrol signals from gateway processor 708 and transmits the one or morecontrol signals to one or more automation systems 742. In variousembodiments, gateway processor 708 controls the routing of the one ormore control signals according to the voice command represented by thecommand signal such that the one or more control signals are transmittedto the automation system(s) relevant to the voice command. In variousembodiments, communication circuit 706 receives one or more feedbacksignals from one or more automation systems 742. The one or morefeedback signals indicate one or more effects of the one or more controlsignals transmitted to one or more automation systems 742. Gatewayprocessor 708 processes the one or more feedback signals to produce oneor more notifications. Communication circuit 706 then transmits the oneor more notifications to HAD 100 to inform the wearer of the effects ofvoice command. In various embodiments, the one or more feedback signalsinclude one or more reminders. The one or more reminders may begenerated by gateway processor 708 or one or more automation systems 742as notifications for gross safety check purposes. Examples of such oneor more reminders include an oven is on or reaches preheatingtemperature, a refrigerator door remains open for prolonged time, andhouse door remains unlocked).

While a plurality of automation systems 742-1 to 742-N is shown in FIG.7 for illustrative purposes, one or more automation systems 742 mayinclude any number of automation systems (i.e., N≥1). In variousembodiments, one or more automation systems 742 each include anautomation controller and a remotely controllable system that includesone of more remotely controllable devices. In the illustratedembodiment, automation system 742-1 includes an automation controller712-1 communicatively coupled to gateway device 702 via communicationlink 713-1 and a remotely controllable system 720-1 communicativelycoupled to automatic controller 712-1 via a wired or wirelesscommunication link 715-1 and includes one or more remotely controllabledevices 714-1; automation system 742-2 includes an automation controller712-2 communicatively coupled to gateway device 702 via communicationlink 713-2 and a remotely controllable system 720-2 communicativelycoupled to automatic controller 712-2 via a wired or wirelesscommunication link 715-2 and includes one or more remotely controllabledevices 714-2; . . . and automation system 742-N includes an automaticcontroller 712-N communicatively coupled to gateway device 702 viacommunication link 713-N and a remotely controllable system 720-Ncommunicatively coupled to automation controller 712-N via a wired orwireless communication link 715-N and includes one or more remotelycontrollable devices 714-N. Automation controllers 712 receive the oneor more control signals from gateway device 702 and control the remotelycontrollable devices 714 using the one or more control signals.

The block diagram shown in FIG. 7 may not necessarily reflect thephysical arrangement of the elements of system 740. For example, gatewaydevice 702 and one or more automation controllers 712 may be integratedinto a single device or a plurality of devices communicating with eachother via one or more wired and/or wireless communication links.

In one embodiment, one or more automation systems 742 include a homeautomation system. One or more automation controllers 712 include a homeautomation controller, such as hub device 312, that is communicativelycoupled to a remotely controllable system with the one or more remotelycontrollable home devices. Examples of such one or more remotelycontrollable home devices include lights, electronic devices (such asradio, television set, and music player), home appliances (such asheater, fan, air conditioner, ventilator, laundry washer, and laundrydryer), kitchen appliances (such as stove, oven, microwave oven, andcoffee maker). In various embodiments, system 740 may allow the wearerof HAD 110 to use voice commands to perform daily tasks in a house suchas turning lights on and off, adjusting heating, and operate varioushome appliances.

In another embodiment, one or more automation systems 742 include anautomotive automation system, such as a “hands-free car system”. One ormore automation controllers 712 include an automotive automationcontroller that is communicatively coupled to a remotely controllablesystem with the one or more remotely controllable automotive devices.Examples of such one or more remotely controllable automotive devicesinclude doors, windows, alarm system, wipes, lights, music system, GPSnavigation system, and climate controller. In various embodiments,system 740 may allow the wearer of HAD 110 to use voice commands toperform tasks related to a car such as locking and unlocking doors;activating and deactivating an alarm system, and controlling wipes,music system, GPS navigation system, climate control, high-beam/low-beamof headlights, etc. A better signal-to-noise ratio for receiving voicecommands using a hearing aid when compared to a remote car microphoneprovide for an advantage to the hearing aid enhanced vehicle automationsystem. In one embodiment, one or more automation systems 742 allows formonitoring biometric data, heart rate, etc., of the hearing aid wearer.Such monitoring may be automatic deployed when needed, for example aftera car accident. In one embodiment, one or more automation systems 742link to OnStar® system (OnStar Corporation, Detroit, Mich., USA).

While the home automation system and the automotive automation systemare discussed as specific examples, other examples of one or moreautomation systems 742 include a factory automation system, an officeautomation system, a hospital automation system, an aircraft automationsystem, and a medical device automation system. In various embodiments,one or more automation systems 742 may include any types of remotelycontrollable devices suitable for being controlled by voice commands.

In various embodiments, system 740 also allows for status informationassociated with each of one or more remotely controllable devices 714 tobe communicated to HAD 110 and played to the wearer as an audibleindicator or message. One or more automation controllers 712 receive astatus signal from one or more remotely controllable devices 714 andtransmit the status signal to gateway device 702. The status signal isindicative of a status of each device of one or more remotelycontrollable devices 714. Gateway processor 708 receives the statussignal and generates a status output to be played via audio HAD 110. Thestatus output is representative of the status signal. HAD 110 convertsthe status output into an audible indicator such as a predetermined toneand/or textual message and plays the audible indicator to the wearer. Invarious embodiments, the status signal may include confirmation ofresponse to the voice command issued by the wearer. In variousembodiments, the status signal may include information from one or moreremotely controllable devices 714 that is not directly related to anyvoice commands issued by the wearer. Examples of such information in theautomotive automation system include alerts and messages from acollision avoidance radar and traffic delay updates.

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a hearing assistance device (HAD)810, according to one embodiment of the present subject matter. HAD 810represents an embodiment of HAD 110 and includes one or more microphones846, a communication circuit 848, an audio processor 850, and a receiver852. Examples of HAD 810 include a hearing aid and a Bluetooth earbudwith microphone.

One or more microphones 846 receive sounds from the environment of HAD810 and produce one or more microphone signals representative of thereceived sounds. Audio processor 850 processes the one or moremicrophone signals and signals received by communication circuit 848 toproduce an output signal. Receiver 852 produces output sounds based onthe output signal and transmits the output sounds to the wearer of HAD810.

Audio processor 850 includes a voice command detector 854 that detectsthe voice command from the one or more microphone signals and producesthe command signal representative of the voice command. In variousembodiments, voice command detector 854 detects voice of the wearer anddetects the voice command from the detected voice of the wearer.Examples for detecting the voice of the wearer are discussed in U.S.Pat. No. 8,477,973, “HEARING ASSISTANCE SYSTEM WITH OWN VOICE DETECTION”and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/464,149, “HEARING ASSISTANCESYSTEM WITH OWN VOICE DETECTION” filed on Aug. 20, 2014, both assignedto Starkey Laboratories, Inc., which are incorporated by referenceherein in their entireties. In various embodiments, voice commanddetector 854 is trained for recognizing various predetermined voicecommands such as particular words and/or phrases spoken by the wearer.Such words and/or phrases may be associated with a particular operationof a particular device of one or more remotely controllable devices 714.Examples of such words and/or phrases include “living room lights off”,“turning heating up by two degrees”, “open driver's side door”, and“increase speed of windshield wiper”. In various embodiments, voicecommand detector 854 may confirm the voice command as detected with thewearer, such as by repeating the word and/or phrase as detected, beforeproducing the command signal. In various embodiments, voice commanddetector 854 may ask the wearer to repeat the voice command if a wordand/or phrase as detected is not recognizable as a predetermined voicecommand.

In various embodiments, for security purposes, each voice command isauthenticated as being a verbal command issued by the wearer or anotherauthorized user. This authentication can be performed by any one or moredevices in system 740. In one embodiment, voice command detector 854performs the authentication of the voice command. In another embodiment,voice command detector 854 relays the voice command to gateway device702, and control signal generator 744 performs the authentication of thevoice command. In various embodiments, voice command detector 854 ofhearing aid 810, control signal generator 744 of gateway device 702,and/or automation controllers 712 perform the authentication of thevoice command. Due to the limited space and/or other design constraints,more power speech recognition algorithms may be used when theauthentication of the voice command is performed outside of HAD 810(i.e., in gateway device 702 and/or automation systems 742. Oneembodiment uses a hybrid approach. HAD 810 makes a first attempt toauthenticate the voice command. If the authentication by HAD 810 isunsuccessful or only partially successful, HAD 810 streams the detectedvoice command the gateway device 702 to be processed in gateway device702. In this embodiment, gateway device 702 executes a speech detectionalgorithm that is more sophisticated and more powerful than that of HAD810. Another embodiment uses a server on the Internet for even moresophisticated and powerful processing of the voice command for theauthentication.

The authentication of the voice command can be performed by usingbiometrics and/or unique voice metrics of the wearer or other authorizeduser to verify that the voice command is from the wearer or otherauthorized user. The authentication of the voice command prevents speechof people other than the wearer and/or other authorized user from beingrecognized as a valid voice command, and prevents the present systemfrom being operated by an unauthorized person.

In various embodiments, in addition to or in place of the authenticationof the voice command, finger-print readers built into the shell of thehearing aid and/or other biometrics can also be used to identify thewearer or other authorized user. Once the voice command isauthenticated, and/or the wearer or other authorized user is otherwiseidentified, HAD 810 can serve as a security device that allows thewearer and/or other authorized user streamlined access to homes,home-automation controls, automobiles, cellphones, computer, or anyother electronically interfaced device requiring locking for securityand/or privacy purposes. Such use of the hearing aid will significantlyreduce time and hassle for providing physical keys and/or passwords tovarious electronically controlled systems with security provisions. Forexample, with voice command authentication, HAD 810 can be effectivelyused as a wireless security key for accessing secure control functionssuch as unlocking doors of automobiles, homes, etc.

Communication circuit 848 transmits the command signal to gateway device702. In various embodiments, communication circuit 848 receives thestatus output from gateway device 702. Audio processor 850 produces astatus indicator using the received status output and includes thestatus indicator in the output signal. Receiver 852 produces outputsounds including the status indicator as the audible tone and/or textualmessage.

In various embodiments, the present subject matter allows wearers ofhearing assistance devices more comfortable at home, car, or otherliving or working environments. It will also make hearing assistancedevices such as hearing aids compatible with various automation systems.

Hearing assistance devices typically include at least one enclosure orhousing, a microphone, hearing assistance device electronics includingprocessing electronics, and a speaker or “receiver.” Hearing assistancedevices may include a power source, such as a battery. In variousembodiments, the battery may be rechargeable. In various embodimentsmultiple energy sources may be employed. It is understood that invarious embodiments the microphone is optional. It is understood that invarious embodiments the receiver is optional. It is understood thatvariations in communications protocols, antenna configurations, andcombinations of components may be employed without departing from thescope of the present subject matter. Antenna configurations may vary andmay be included within an enclosure for the electronics or be externalto an enclosure for the electronics. Thus, the examples set forth hereinare intended to be demonstrative and not a limiting or exhaustivedepiction of variations.

It is understood that digital hearing aids include a processor. Indigital hearing aids with a processor (such as audio processor 850),programmable gains may be employed to adjust the hearing aid output to awearer's particular hearing impairment. The processor may be a digitalsignal processor (DSP), microprocessor, microcontroller, other digitallogic, or combinations thereof. The processing may be done by a singleprocessor, or may be distributed over different devices. The processingof signals referenced in this application can be performed using theprocessor or over different devices. Processing may be done in thedigital domain, the analog domain, or combinations thereof. Processingmay be done using subband processing techniques. Processing may be doneusing frequency domain or time domain approaches. Some processing mayinvolve both frequency and time domain aspects. For brevity, in someexamples drawings may omit certain blocks that perform frequencysynthesis, frequency analysis, analog-to-digital conversion,digital-to-analog conversion, amplification, buffering, and certaintypes of filtering and processing. In various embodiments the processoris adapted to perform instructions stored in one or more memories, whichmay or may not be explicitly shown. Various types of memory may be used,including volatile and nonvolatile forms of memory. In variousembodiments, the processor or other processing devices executeinstructions to perform a number of signal processing tasks. Suchembodiments may include analog components in communication with theprocessor to perform signal processing tasks, such as sound reception bya microphone, or playing of sound using a receiver (i.e., inapplications where such transducers are used). In various embodiments,different realizations of the block diagrams, circuits, and processesset forth herein can be created by one of skill in the art withoutdeparting from the scope of the present subject matter.

Various embodiments of the present subject matter support wirelesscommunications with a hearing assistance device. In various embodimentsthe wireless communications can include standard or nonstandardcommunications. Some examples of standard wireless communicationsinclude, but not limited to, Bluetooth™, low energy Bluetooth, IEEE802.11 (wireless LANs), 802.15 (WPANs), and 802.16 (WiMAX). Cellularcommunications may include, but not limited to, CDMA, GSM, ZigBee, andultra-wideband (UWB) technologies. In various embodiments, thecommunications are radio frequency communications. In variousembodiments the communications are optical communications, such asinfrared communications. In various embodiments, the communications areinductive communications. In various embodiments, the communications areultrasound communications. Although embodiments of the present systemmay be demonstrated as radio communication systems, it is possible thatother forms of wireless communications can be used. It is understoodthat past and present standards can be used. It is also contemplatedthat future versions of these standards and new future standards may beemployed without departing from the scope of the present subject matter.

The wireless communications support a connection from other devices.Such connections include, but are not limited to, one or more mono orstereo connections or digital connections having link protocolsincluding, but not limited to 802.3 (Ethernet), 802.4, 802.5, USB, ATM,Fibre-channel, Firewire or 1394, InfiniBand, or a native streaminginterface. In various embodiments, such connections include all past andpresent link protocols. It is also contemplated that future versions ofthese protocols and new protocols may be employed without departing fromthe scope of the present subject matter.

In various embodiments, the present subject matter is used in hearingassistance devices that are configured to communicate with mobilephones. In such embodiments, the hearing assistance device may beoperable to perform one or more of the following: answer incoming calls,hang up on calls, and/or provide two way telephone communications. Invarious embodiments, the present subject matter is used in hearingassistance devices configured to communicate with packet-based devices.In various embodiments, the present subject matter includes hearingassistance devices configured to communicate with streaming audiodevices. In various embodiments, the present subject matter includeshearing assistance devices configured to communicate with Wi-Fi devices.In various embodiments, the present subject matter includes hearingassistance devices capable of being controlled by remote controldevices.

It is further understood that different hearing assistance devices mayembody the present subject matter without departing from the scope ofthe present disclosure. The devices depicted in the figures are intendedto demonstrate the subject matter, but not necessarily in a limited,exhaustive, or exclusive sense. It is also understood that the presentsubject matter can be used with a device designed for use in the rightear or the left ear or both ears of the wearer.

The present subject matter may also be employed in hearing assistancedevices that are not specifically discussed above, such as headsets,headphones, and similar hearing devices.

The present subject matter may be employed in hearing assistance deviceshaving additional sensors. Such sensors include, but are not limited to,magnetic field sensors, telecoils, temperature sensors, accelerometersand proximity sensors.

The present subject matter is demonstrated for hearing assistancedevices, including hearing aids, including but not limited to,behind-the-ear (BTE), in-the-ear (ITE), in-the-canal (ITC),receiver-in-canal (RIC), or completely-in-the-canal (CIC) type hearingaids. It is understood that behind-the-ear type hearing aids may includedevices that reside substantially behind the ear or over the ear. Suchdevices may include hearing aids with receivers associated with theelectronics portion of the behind-the-ear device, or hearing aids of thetype having receivers in the ear canal of the user, including but notlimited to receiver-in-canal (RIC) or receiver-in-the-ear (RITE)designs. The present subject matter can also be used in hearingassistance devices generally, such as cochlear implant type hearingdevices and such as deep insertion devices having a transducer, such asa receiver or microphone, whether custom fitted, standard fitted, openfitted and/or occlusive fitted. It is understood that other hearingassistance devices not expressly stated herein may be used inconjunction with the present subject matter.

This application is intended to cover adaptations or variations of thepresent subject matter. It is to be understood that the abovedescription is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Thescope of the present subject matter should be determined with referenceto the appended claims, along with the full scope of legal equivalentsto which such claims are entitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for controlling an automation systemincluding one or more remotely controllable devices, the methodcomprising: detecting a voice command using a hearing device configuredto be worn by a wearer, the voice command identifying a device of theone or more remotely controllable devices and an operation of theidentified device; transmitting a command signal wirelessly from thehearing device to a gateway device in response to the voice commandbeing detected by the hearing device, the command signal representativeof the voice command; producing one or more control signals based on thereceived command signal using the gateway device; and transmitting theone or more control signals from the gateway device to the identifieddevice, the one or more control signals controlling the operation of theidentified device according to the voice command.
 2. The method of claim1, further comprising: receiving one or more feedback signals from theidentified device using the gateway device, the one or more feedbacksignals indicative of one or more effects of transmitting the one ormore control signals to the identified device; and producing one or morenotifications based on the one or more feedback signals using thegateway device, the one or more notifications informing the wearer ofthe one or more effects.
 3. The method of claim 2, further comprisingtransmitting the one or more notifications from the gateway devicewirelessly to the hearing device.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereintransmitting the one or more control signals from the gateway device tothe identified device comprises transmitting the one or more controlsignals wirelessly from the gateway device to the identified device, andreceiving the one or more feedback signals from the identified deviceusing the gateway device comprises receiving the one or more feedbacksignals wirelessly from the identified device using the gateway device.5. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the voice command comprises:detecting voice of the wearer using the hearing device; and detectingthe voice command from the detected voice of the wearer using thehearing device.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:authenticating the voice command as being from the wearer; and producingthe one or more control signals in response to the voice command beingauthenticated as being from the wearer.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein authenticating the voice command as being from the wearercomprises authenticating the voice command as being from the wearerusing the hearing device, and further comprising confirming the detectedvoice command by repeating the voice command to the wearer beforeproducing the command signal using the hearing device.
 8. The method ofclaim 6, wherein authenticating the detected voice command comprisesauthenticating the detected voice command using biometrics of thewearer.
 9. The method of claim 6, wherein authenticating the detectedvoice command comprises authenticating the detected voice command usingmetrics of voice of the wearer.
 10. The method of claim 6, whereinauthenticating the voice command comprises authenticating the voicecommand comprises using a device communicatively coupled to the hearingdevice.
 11. An apparatus for controlling an automation system includingone or more remotely controllable devices using a hearing deviceconfigured to be worn by a wearer and to detect a voice command, theapparatus comprising: a gateway device configured to provide aninterface between the hearing device and the automation system, thegateway device including: a communication circuit configured to:wirelessly receive a command signal transmitted from the hearing devicein response to the voice command being detected by the hearing device,the voice command identifying a device of the one or more remotelycontrollable devices and an operation of the identified device, thecommand signal representative of the voice command; and transmit one ormore control signals to the identified device; and a processorconfigured to produce the one or more control signals for controllingthe operation of the identified device according to the voice command.12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the communication circuit isfurther configured to receive one or more feedback signals from theidentified device, the one or more feedback signals indicative of one ormore effects of transmitting the one or more control signals to theidentified device, and the processor is further configured to produceone or more notifications for informing the wearer of the one or moreeffects based on the received one or more feedback signals.
 13. Theapparatus of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured totransmit the one or more notifications to the hearing device using thecommunication circuit.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein thecommunication circuit is configured to wirelessly communicate with theautomation system identified device.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, theprocessor is configured to authenticate the voice command as being fromthe wearer and to generate the one or more control signals in responseto the voice command being authenticated as being from the wearer. 16.The apparatus of claim 11, comprising the hearing device, wherein thehearing device is configured to authenticate the voice command as beingfrom the wearer and to produce the command signal in response to thevoice command being authenticated as being from the wearer.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 16, wherein the hearing device is configured todetect voice of the wearer and detect the voice command from thedetected voice of the wearer.
 18. The apparatus of claim 11, furthercomprising one or more automation controllers configured to becommunicatively coupled to the gateway device and communicativelycoupled to the one or more remotely controllable devices, to receive theone or more control signals, and to control the one or more remotelycontrollable devices using the received one or more control signals. 19.The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more automationcontrollers comprise a home automation controller configured to controlone or more home appliances.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein theone or more automation controllers comprise an automotive automationcontroller configured to control one or more automotive devices.